The first half of 2017 was a collection of unforgettable memories and history in the making. Here is how it looked through the Estevan Mercury.
January:
The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins came out stumbling in a 4-1 loss at home to the Weyburn Red Wings on New Year’s Day. “We had a couple bad breakdowns and we just hung him out to dry,” lamented alternate captain Jake Fletcher of his goaltender Nathan Alalouf. The Bruins won the game the following day and then had a home game against the Battlefords North Stars to look forward to. The Stars were the top-ranked team in the SJHL.
The Westmoreland peewee AA Bruins improved their record to 10-4-1 with a pair of wins over Moose Jaw.
The Prairie Mud peewee A Bruins, meanwhile, enjoyed a third tournament win during the season at the Pee Wee Border Cup Tournament in Minot, N.D. Defenceman Denver Sehn scored the tournament winning goal with 54 seconds left in the third period.
The Apex Bruins tied a midget AA game at home to the Lumsden/Bethune Lions 0-0 despite throwing 53 shots on Lions goaltender Riley Christison. The tie moved the Bruins to 19-4-2 on the year, but they would play seven of their last 11 games on the road.
TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club general manager Kyle Mulligan resigned from his position to take a job with the Royal Regina Golf Course. Also an assistant coach with the Power Dodge Bruins, Mulligan’s resignation came as a surprise. “Working with the staff who were there, the board of directors, I believe we've truly set the table for the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club to have a tremendous future,” said Mulligan.
Those Power Dodge Bruins lost 6-3 to the visiting North Stars on Jan. 6. The team took some unnecessary penalties, according to head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “I mean you got to take one for the team sometimes. It’s much easier said than done, but those are 200 feet from our net and didn’t need to be taken,” he said.
The TS&M Bruins played a home bantam AA league game against the Saskatoon Stallions and dropped the game 4-2. They had been playing well in the weeks going into the game despite a 5-12-3 record. “We had a tough December,” said Bruins head coach Tom Copeland. “We played in Prince Albert, we played in Saskatoon, it was just a brutal schedule, but it made these kids better players.”
The Estevan Vipers peewee AA female hockey team won a 4-1 decision over Melville at the Civic Auditorium. Four different goal scorers helped lift the team to a 9-4-2 record in the South Saskatchewan Female Hockey League.
The Apex Bruins midget AA hockey team kept an 11-game undefeated streak alive with a 6-2 win over the Notre Dame Argos at Affinity Place.
Emily Marshall returned to team Saskatchewan’s water polo squad after an injury – a hairline fracture to her left radial bone. She played five games with the U19 team, scoring a pair of goals. “It was essentially a giant oven mitt, so it looked like I had a flipper,” she said of her recovery. “I basically just swam laps until I got the cast off and then I had a brace so I was doing basically goalie drills instead. So, lots of legwork and no contact whatsoever.”
The Power Dodge Bruins won a wild 7-4 game over visiting Humboldt. “There is bitter blood between the teams,” said winger Matt McNeil, who scored four goals and an assist in the game. “I don't know why, but tonight it was just rougher than usual and it was a great game to play with the atmosphere in the rink.”
The Estevan Avengers defeated the Estevan Lightning 5-3 at the Civic to clam the bronze medal at the Estevan Atom Tournament. The two teams in the South East Hockey League had only met once before during their season.
February:
Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) boys and girls curling teams fell short at the McComb’s Automotive Youth Spiel at the Power Dodge Curling Centre. The junior team, skipped by Devin Fichter, lost to Balgonie in the bronze medal final. The senior team, skipped by Rachel Kramer, lost to a Regina team in the B final.
The Power Tech midget AA Panthers girls hockey team earned only a single point in two games against the Regina Capitals and struggled a bit with team play. They came back after a Tier 1-A championship at the Wickenheiser Female World Hockey Festival in Calgary in mid-November but only won a pair of games in November. “After Calgary we thought we were way up there and we kind of slowed down a bit,” said goaltender Morgan Fayle. “So, we just need to get right back up to how we were before and I think the results will be a little bit better.”
The Estevan Mermaids synchronized swimming team took first place out of six groups in the age 13-15 category at the Sandra Roberts National Stream Provincial Championship in Regina. In figures, Hannah Mantei placed first out of 40 competitors with a score of 59.7498, Gemma Bittman came in second with a mark of 59.3335, Nyla Dyck finished fifth with 58.0833 points and Haley Copeland captured seventh place with a score of 57.0833.
Former ECS senior girls basketball team captain Tess Lindquist of the Medicine Hat Rattlers women’s basketball team was recovering from a concussion sustained in an auto accident. “I’m still recovering from it,” said Lindquist, 18, who was effectively redshirted by the Rattlers for the year from the accident. “It was a pretty traumatic accident I guess you could say. It’s been quite hard, but I have really good roommates actually.” One of those roommates was Kristen Skjonsby, another former Elecs captain.
The Power Dodge Bruins won 4-2 over the visiting Flin Flon Bombers, coming back from being down 2-1 in the game. “The game was back and forth all day,” said Lewgood. “It was fairly evenly played. We planned on playing 60 minutes and our guys just stuck to it.” The Bruins would later clinch first place in the Viterra Division and secured a top three spot in the first round of the playoffs.
Southeast Performance Pump Twins midget AAA baseball team head coach Blaine Kovach held a spring clinic at the Estevan Leisure Centre’s multipurpose room during the week for bantam and midget-aged players. The team would host midget AAA provincials later in the year at Lynne Prime Park. “The city teams, they have already done their drafts for players for their teams,” Kovach said. “Lots of their guys work out all winter long (while) lots of guys in our area they take the winter off. They play hockey and they do other things. Which is great, it keeps them in shape. But now, especially with midget AAA provincials coming and this is the highest calibre of midget ball you can play, guys have got to start thinking baseball and get ready for the season.”
The TS&M bantam AA Bruins (7-16-3) surrendered too many shots in a 6-3 loss to the West Central Wheat Kings. “We want to go into the playoffs rolling and we’re going to need a little bit from everybody if we’re going to get that done,” said head coach Tom Copeland.
The McLeod series began in Weyburn with the Weyburn Comprehensive School senior basketball teams taking a six-point lead on visiting ECS teams. The boys won their game 79-75 while the girls lost 71-61. Estevan won the previous two McLeod Series, but Weyburn held a 43-38 lifetime record entering play this year.
When the series returned to Estevan, the girls won their game, and the boys had the lead late, but Weyburn rallied to win and force overtime. Estevan ended up defeating the Weyburn Eagles 11-7 in overtime to claim their third title in as many years.
“It is awesome,” said Elecs forward Kourtney Kobitz, who celebrated her third McLeod Series championship in four years with the Elecs. “We’re going to use it toward playing as a team moving forward and to hopefully go to provincials this year.”
In the weekend between the series games, the Elecs senior boys team beat Yorkton 89-84 to win third place in the Energy City Invitational tournament.
The midget AA Apex Bruins took first place overall in the South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League with a tie over the Weyburn Wings. The Bruins finished one point ahead of Yorkton, but the Bruins lost their first game of the playoffs 3-2 to eighth place Notre Dame Hounds.
March:
The Vipers peewee A female hockey team made it to the second round of the playoffs on the strength of a 5-1 win over the Regina Renegades. They then beat Swift Current on their way to the league final against the Moose Jaw Mavericks. In the Saskatchewan Hockey Association’s provincials, they beat Melville in a pair of blowouts to make it to the SHA provincial final.
In the provincial final, they lost 18-2 to the Midwest Red Wings from Turtleford, while in the league final, they lost in three games to Moose Jaw.
“The girls seemed to be playing with a lot of jump, and then, just as the game went on, they wore down a little bit, and it got harder for us to put pucks in the net,” said coach Brent Olfert.
The TS&M Bantam AA Bruins lost out in the second round of the playoffs to the Swift Current Broncos. Their 5-1 loss signaled the end of the best of three series. “Second periods were a big problem for us all year,” said Bruins head coach Tom Copeland. “You really do have to adjust your game in the second period because this is a totally different hockey game (compared to other minor league divisions).”
The midget AA Power Tech Panthers won 5-1 over the Notre Dame Hounds to claim a first round victory in the South Saskatchewan Female Hockey League. “I think it was teamwork (that got us the win),” said forward Starla Mann. “We really put together what we've been bonding on and practising hard on.” The Panthers defeated Weyburn 12-3 on two game, total goals in the SHA semifinal. They lost 7-5 in the provincial final to the Saskatoon Comet Legends.
The bantam A Bruins took a two-game total-point series against the Weyburn Hitmen and earned a date in the SHA semifinals against the Prairie Storm. “I think we can give them a run for their money if we give everything we’ve got,” said Bruins captain Ben Wagstaff. “But, it’s definitely going to be tough.” They lost 9-4 in the series. “We started out well, but we had a couple quick goals on us in the second period,” said coach Tim Miller of the series opening 5-1 loss. The Bruins lost 4-3 in the second game, concluding their season.
The Elecs senior girls helped raise over $6,000 at their Shoot For A Cure tournament and also won gold. They beat the Moose Jaw Peacock Toilers 62-56 in the gold medal game for their first home tournament win since 2010. “People are so generous, and it’s awesome, because we couldn’t have pulled this off without everyone’s help,” said head coach Jessie Smoliak.
The girls made it to Hoopla, the provincial high school basketball 5A tournament, because of their 74-69 win in regionals over Notre Dame at regionals in Estevan. “We definitely work a lot better this year than any other team I’ve been on,” said Kalee Donovan. The Elecs won one of three games at Hoopla.
The senior boys basketball team, meanwhile, wasn’t as fortunate to make it to Hoopla. They lost 72-62 to the Battlefords Composite School at regionals. They only graduated three players from their team.
The Westmoreland pee wee AA Bruins lost out in their quest for a league championship, losing 5-1 and 5-4 to Swift Current in the league final. “It was clear from the start of the year that Swift Current was going to be the team to beat, and we planned, hopefully, that we would be there to give them a run for their money,” said Bruins head coach Aren Miller.
The Apex Bruins went to the South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League final after knocking off Melville in the semifinals. They played Yorkton in the southern league final, where they lost the series three games to one. “We had lots of chances to score, but we couldn’t execute, which was the difference,” said coach Blake Jamieson.
The Power Dodge Bruins enjoyed a respite before their first round of the playoffs, where they were getting ready to play the Yorkton Terriers. “It’s nice to have this bye week where we can just take the time to rest and get prepared for the next round,” said captain Lynnden Pastachak. They defeated Yorkton four games to one, their first best-of-seven series win since 2005, and readied themselves for a semifinal match with the Battlefords North Stars. “We’re going to have to be at our best,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “We’re going to have to be hard on their defence. We’re going to have to shoot the puck a lot, and we’re going to have to slow down their transition game.”
The peewee A Bruins won their home tournament with a 6-2 win in the A final over Weyburn.
The juvenile Murray GM Raiders broomball team hosted the national championships March 28-31 and went 0-7, going 0-5 in the round robin part of the tournament plus 0-2 in the playoffs. The Raiders were made up 0f 11 players from Estevan and nine from Odessa. The Caj Centre-du-QC won the women’s title and the Valley Gamblers won the men’s division.
The ECS Cheerleading team took first place in their division at the 11th annual provincial competition. They had a score of 93.05 to win the senior school level 2 title.
April:
The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins were eliminated from the playoffs by the Battlefords North Stars in five games. The team made a lot of strides in the season, head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood said. But the game marked the end of the junior hockey careers for goaltender Nathan Alalouf, defencemen Josh Rieger and Evan Scott, and forwards Levi Barnstable, Matt McNeill, Jason Miller and captain Lynden Pastachak. “They’re all good people,” said Lewgood. “That’s the best thing about them. This was a memorable season because we had some success, but it’s more memorable for the people we had in the room, and who we shared that success with. And it started with our 20-year-olds.” Later in the month the Bruins held their top prospects camp for nearly 60 prospective future Bruins.
Saskatchewan’s largest recreational hockey tournament was held April 5-9 at Estevan’s three arenas. The Estevan Strippers 35th annual Molson Spring Bust Tournament saw 40 teams come to the area. In addition to the on-ice games, cabarets were held April 7-8 at the Power Dodge Curling Centre. Champions were crowned in numerous divisions.
The Estevan Mermaids held their annual water show to wrap up their busy year. The event concluded with a scholarship presentation to graduating member Courtney Reetz, and a grand finale with members of the competitive team.
The Estevan Comprehensive School’s badminton team hosted a tournament that they won. Elecs won medals in four of the five divisions. “We have a really strong junior program this year, with a strong group in five different categories. They were really successful so far in other tournaments,” said coach Sheena Summers.
At districts late in the month, Sage Dayman qualified for regionals for boys singles, while mixed team Sammy Wade and John Sasi also punched their ticket for regionals.
Woodlawn Golf Course opened for the year just before Easter. “The greens wintered very well,” said new general manager Travis Merritt. “The tee boxes are in good shape and the fairways are in good shape.” Both the driving range and the golf course were busy with golfers looking to try their new equipment and eager to get out for the year.
Estevan’s Preston Brodziak played for the Regina Pat Canadians in the Telus Cup championship from April 24-30. He was second on the team in playoff scoring with five goals and 11 assists in 11 games for the Pat Canadians, who won the provincial midget AAA championship, and had a strong showing at nationals.
The Southeast Smash U14 boys volleyball team won the Tier 2 bronze medal at provincials in Saskatoon. The U14 girls won the silver in their Tier 2 provincials. The Southeast Giants, based out of Estevan, competed in Tier 1 of the 16-and-under division. They won just one of six games, but they still managed to finish fourth in the eight-team tournament.
The Southeast Performance Pump Twins Midget AAA baseball team opened their season with a pair of wins over the Swift Current 57s, 4-2 and 8-0. The games were their first en route to hosting provincials in July.
The minor baseball season began with 250 youth in seven age divisions. “From what I’ve seen from the kids that I’ve talked to, they’re raring to get going,” said minor baseball president Ryan Siever. Youth can play on travelling teams like the Twins, the bantam Southeast As in Alameda, the peewee TS&M Tornadoes and the KPC mosquito Sluggers.
The Estevan Minor Box Lacrosse season got underway as well, with president Marc Seeman saying there were 150 kids involved in six divisions. The midgets, bantams, peewees and the novice Vipers will play their games in Queen City Minor Box Lacrosse’s league, while the senior Impact are part of the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League.
The 18th season of the Estevan Motor Speedway began with a test and tune practice session at the speedway. “Our track prep crew has done a fantastic job,” said president Keith Cassidy of the season opener, which was set for May 3. “I know they’ve been working on this track for over a month, and it should be race ready.”
May:
Travis Hagen won the modified race, Gregg Mann took the street stocks, Zach Lutz won the hobby stocks and Keenan Glasser took the slingshots race at the first race of the season at the Estevan Motor Speedway. Mann’s race saw him hold off a challenge from Kody Scholpp in the final lap. "Those last lap victories are always a fun race," said Mann. "I didn't even know it was the checkered flag. I couldn't see the flag man."
The Estevan Golden Eels got out of the starting gate on their season with practices early in the month. Eels coach Cassidy Reich said the Eels have a lot of kids returning from last year’s team that won the provincial title.
Awards for the top athletes of the year were handed out at the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins Celebrity Dinner May 3. Golfer Jayden Dudas won male athlete of the year, while Kourtney Kobitz won female athlete of the year. Apex Midget AA Bruins coach Blake Jamieson won the volunteer coach of the year award.
At the WHL draft, defenceman Alex Von Sprecken was picked by the Spokane Chiefs in the sixth round, 116th overall. Forward Carey Levesque was picked by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the ninth round, 191st overall.
The Southeast Performance Pump Twins went 1-2 in their first three home games of the year, winning 11-0 over the Regina Red Sox in Weyburn before coming to Lynne Prime Park to take on the Saskatoon Giants, losing 9-5 and 14-6. “It took a little while for the bats to get going (in Game 1 against the Giants), and then they made some costly errors that definitely cost us some runs,” said Twins coach Kent Phillips. “Minus the errors in the first game, I think we could have won.” They dropped a pair of doubleheaders at home late in the month to the Regina Wolfpack and the Regina Athletics.
The Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs held their intersquad Blue and White game after their five-day spring camp. “I think we had a lot of new faces out this week, which was exciting and encouraging,” said Elecs head coach Mark Schott.
June:
Kaden Chrest’s late goal with 29 seconds left for the Estevan Warriors bantam box lacrosse team nearly won the game for Estevan at their home game in Bienfait, but Moose Jaw Mustangs’ Atley Calvert scored with 16 seconds left to tie the game again. “The kids this year have improved immensely from the beginning of the year to where we are now. This game, this was one of the best games they've played this year as far as I'm concerned,’ said Warriors coach Darcey Williams.
Estevan Comprehensive School’s Donny Mortenson cleaned up at the school’s annual athletic awards night. He won the excellence award for basketball, the success award for football and the school’s male athlete of the year honour. Kourtney Kobits won the female athlete of the year after helping the basketball team make Hoopla for the first time in 12 years.
The midget Thunder box lacrosse team won 15-0 over Weyburn at Affinity Place, moving them one step closer to provincials. “They played well tonight but we still have some work to do,” said Thunder coach Jim Ludwig. “We know exactly where Weyburn's at. That's where we were a little while ago. They're going to be a good team too someday. It's all in game experience.”
Four players with the Coaler Rollers junior girls roller derby team leveled up in benchmarks from level two to level three. “We were a little bit nervous in our first game, knowing how are they going to fit in,” said Lorelei Lachambre, president of the South East Sask. Roller Derby Association Sunday at their season-ending event at the Bienfait Memorial Arena. “And you would have never known that they didn't play level three last year. They fit in to the lines perfectly. They upped their game and they became more aggressive. Kudos to them.”
TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club head professional Amanda Minchin won the PGA Saskatchewan’s Lady Pro Am at Saskatoon’s Greenbryre Golf Club earlier in the month. Estevan's Jane Moriarty and Kathy Epp played on her team. “The goal is to go and have fun. For myself, I'm obviously playing in an event with the other pros in Saskatchewan so there's a team aspect and the individual aspect as well. It's a competitive round but it's also fun as well.”
Estevan Sharks water polo team coaches won an award for their work with the team at the provincial association’s awards night. Mona Hack and Tania Andrist won the coach of the year award, while Charlotte Andrist was the U14 athlete of the year. “We've just really grown as far as how we play our kids and what we want to see from our kids,” Hack said. “It's not about winning, it's about wanting to develop the kids and seeing them grow.”
The Estevan Pee Wee Voltz ended their season on a high note, claiming bronze in the Queen City Minor Box Lacrosse League. At Regina's Al Ritchie Arena, they defeated the Regina Titans 10-8 on the strength of a strong third period. They led 3-2 after the first and were tied 5-5 after the second period.
The Southeast Performance Pump midget AAA Twins went 3-1 on the last weekend of the year. “They came out swinging a little bit better this time around and that's what changed it,” said Twins coach Blaine Kovach. “Luke (Niemegeers) came out as our starting pitcher, kept them off balance and did as well as he could.”
Estevan Minor Baseball handed out their awards for their teams, with many players getting plaudits from their coaches on how they earned the awards. “I think they kind of took their cues from each other to kind of give a background on how the kids did this year,” said Estevan minor baseball president Ryan Siever. “It was nice to get some stories on these kids on how they improved or how they did this year.”
A full contingent of 29 Estevan Golden Eels swimmers went to Regina for a meet late in the month and many broke provincial records, with even more coming back with personal bests and medals. A total of 13 took medals for being the best in their age categories.
The Rondeau Cup was won by Jayden Dudas’ team. The cup was contested at TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club by youngsters captained by some of the club’s older teens. The Rondeau Cup was originally scheduled for May but weather scuttled those plans. Instead, a beautiful Sunday afternoon with uncharacteristically calm winds and bright sunshine introduced the golfers to the day.
